1 Officer Killed, 3 Wounded in Separate Shootings in Florida

Two of the officers were injured in Kissimmee, while the others were wounded in Jacksonville.

Author:
wltx

Published:
2:09 AM EDT August 19, 2017

Updated:
2:09 AM EDT August 19, 2017

Kissimmee, FL (AP, WTLV, CBS) - One police officer was killed and three others were injured in two separate shootings in Florida late Friday night.

The shooting that took the life of one of those officers happened in the town of Kissimmee, just south of Orlando.

Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell said at a news conference early Saturday morning that officers Sam Howard and Matthew Baxter were checking people in an area of Kissimmee known for drug activity when they were shot. They did not have an opportunity to return fire.

O'Dell says Baxter died later in a hospital, and Howard was in serious condition.

Three suspects are in custody and a fourth is being sought in connection with that crime.

Meanwhile in Jacksonville, two officers are hospitalized after attempting to apprehend an active shooting suspect on the city's westside.

The shooting occurred when a contact team of four or five officers approached a home just before 11 p.m. The officers were called out to a report of an attempted suicide, police said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says when the contact team reached the home, a shooter with a high-powered rifle opened fire at the officers through the front doorway of the home.

The officers and the suspect then exchanged gunfire. Two officers and the suspect were wounded in the exchange, police said.

The suspect and the officers were transported to a local hospital, where the suspect died.

One officer is in critical condition after being shot in the stomach, while the other was shot in both hands and is in stable condition, police said.

The three victims inside the home are now safe, a police spokesperson said.